Hidden Truth
by Fizby the Jupiter Adept
Summary: Takes place during GS. The heroes have just entered Mercury Lighthouse. What will happen there? And who is this "Rei" person?
1. The Sword

Hello, Fizby here. Again. Who else? ^_^

Well, scary as it is, I'm gonna do a fic that's actually serious. ::Gasp!:: Oh well, here goes the horror

Oh yes, and I can't remember who sings the song in this chapter, so if you could tell me, I'd really appreciate it so that I can give credit to that artist. Thankies! =^-^=

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CHAPTER 1: THE SWORD

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"I'm not crazy,

I'm just a little unwell.

I know, right now you can't tell.

But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see

A different side of me.

I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired.

I know, right now you don't care,

But soon enough,

You're gonna think of me,

And how I used to be. . ."

Shells rattled together as they hit each other. Shortly after, a double knock hit the door. Without invitation, a tall, motherly figure opened the door and entered the room.

Rei, who had already stopped singing, was busying herself with shuffling papers around on the floor, pretending she was actually working. "Hey, Mom." Rei greeted the person with a smile.

Her mother, Anna Marie, glanced quickly around the room. Her sharp gaze quickly noted that the mess on the floor hadn't changed much since she was last up here. Which was well over and hour ago. "I just came in here to check and see how you were doing." Her eyes settled on Rei.

Rei plastered a fake grin on her face, replying politely. But secretly, she blessed the curtain of shells outside her room. . . They allowed her to daydream and "doddle", as her mother put it, as much as she wanted, and it gave her a second to look like she was doing something productive.

Rei and Anna Marie looked at each other for a while in silence. Well, almost silence. Rei had her boom box turned on, and it played softly in the background. After a minute or two, Anna exited the room. But before Rei could sigh in relief and go back to her daydream, Anna Marie's head poked through the door. "Remember," she warned. "No internet or TV until this mess is picked up." With that said, she left in a clatter of shells. The stairs creaked as Rei's mother went back downstairs.

Rei counted to 10 in silence. Deciding that her mother wasn't going to disturb her for a while, she got up with a groan and closed the door. She remembered to lock the door this time, even though it didn't work. Her dog could push open the door when she tried to lock it. Still, it gave her a feeling of privacy.

She stretched and looked around the room. Her bed was cluttered with books. The floor was full with paper, notebooks, and clothes. The desk. . . Well. . . Rei didn't even want to *think* about that. Taking care not to crush something or stab her foot, Rei crossed the rook and stood in front of the mirror.

Looking back at her was a girl who had just become a teenager. Black hair that came half a foot beneath her shoulders was tied back in a messy ponytail. Crystalline blue eyes stared back at Rei, catching the light with a mischievous twinkle. Her semi-pale, semi-tan skin contrasted with the dark clothes she was wearing.

Tearing her gaze away from the mirror, Rei looked again around her room. For the past three days, she had been "working," but only an hour's worth of cleaning had actually been accomplished. She sat down in a small circle of bare carpet, where she had been sitting before her mother interrupted her.

Her eyes first fixated on the closet doors across from her. Slowly, her eyes unfocused and she escaped from dreary reality to a dream with no boundaries. Often, she dreamt that she had magical powers that were secret and hers alone. While sometimes her dreams were unrealistic, she did have "normal", mundane daydreams too. Dreaming about things like that "special guy" who would not consider her a freak.

An hour or two passed. Rei was right now dreaming about obtaining a sword with magical properties when a shout awakened her. "Rei! Come downstairs! Dinner's ready!"

Rei sighed and left the sword where it lay. Quickly, she crossed the bedroom and left. She flew down the steps and entered the kitchen. Anna Marie and Rei's father, Derik, sat at a round, wooden table. Meike, her little sister, sat at the island in the center of the kitchen.

Rei sat down next to Meike and looked at her plate. On it was steak, potatoes, and corn. She smiled and ate with a will. When she finished, Rei trudged up the steps. She went into her room and sat down once again on the floor.

For half an hour, Rei struggled to recapture her dream and claim the sword. But she couldn't go back. Cursing herself for her weakness, she worked on cleaning her room for fourty-five minutes. Finishing with the pile of paper she had been working on, she yawned. "I guess I can go to bed now." Rei smiled, looking at her handiwork. "This should throw Mom off the trail for a while."

Chuckling at her jest, she entered the bathroom, conveniently located bright by her room. Shooing Meike out, she grabbed her toothbrush and. . . brushed her teeth. She pulled the ponytail out of her hair and grabbed a brush. She combed her hair while walking back to her room. When she finished, she set down the brush on the nightstand. Rei then switched her normal attire with pink pajamas with sheep jumping fences on it.

Rei turned off the light and slipped into bed. Quietly, she waited for her parents to go into their bedroom and close the door. When she knew that they wouldn't be bugging her, she grabbed a flashlight and a book out from underneath the pillow next to her. Burrowing under the blankets, Rei started to read.

When Rei could no longer stand the air under the covers, she got out and turned off the flashlight. She took it and the book and stuffed them underneath the pillow. Looking over at her alarm clock, she almost cussed out loud. The time was 11:59.

That would not be so bad, except that tomorrow was a school day, and Rei had to wake up at 6 o'clock. Rei quickly closed her eyes.

Rei fell asleep almost instantly. She dreamed that she was walking along a wide hallway. . .

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THE DREAM

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Rei's footsteps echoed as she walked along the hallway. She was the only one here, and she thought she could hear water dripping nearby. None of that caught her attention, though. In front of her was the sword, the sword from her daydream.

The blade shined with an arcane brilliance. On the hilt was a strange stone that Rei had never seen before. It seemed to be four colors all at once: red, yellow, purple, and blue. She wasn't sure how that was even possible, but there it was, before her.

Rei ran over to the sword with a cry of childish delight. When she got there, she felt drawn to the sword. Knowing that this was a dream, she decided to pick it up.

Her hand closed over the hilt.

::Or am I dreaming?::

She picked up the sword.

::This metal is really cold. . .::

She felt a prick in her hand.

::You can't feel pain in dreams, right?::

She pondered about whether or not this was really a dream, when the metal became colder than ice. The unnatural chill spread like a disease all throughout her body. Rei screamed in pain and tried to let go of the sword, but it wouldn't let her. It had become like a part of her body.

::This is a dream. A terrible, terrible dream. I'll open my eyes, and this will all be over. I'll be in my own bed, in my house.::

The pain suddenly increased. It seemed her body would be ripped apart.

::This is a dream. Please, make it stop.::

Black outlined her vision.

::This is a dream! Make it stop!::

The world crumbled beneath her feet.

::I'm not dreaming. This is rea---::

She never got to finish her thought.

In the distance, Rei could hear footsteps and someone shouting. But she didn't hear. She was floating down into darkness.

Floating. . .

                 Falling. . .

                                Black. . .

                                              Nothing. . .

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END OF CHAPTER 1: THE SWORD

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Sorry I have to end this with a boring commentary, but the story would be a lot more interesting if I knew how you can put italics tags in without it actually showing the tags. So, if you know how to get the desired effect, PLEASE share your knowledge, Oh Wise One! ^^;


	2. The Road to Imil

Yes, the last chapter DOES have to do with GS. Don't worry. ^_^

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CHAPTER 2: THE ROAD TO IMIL

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Isaac, Ivan, and Garet trudged through the snow. Garet set the pace for their march by chanting, "Cold. Cold. Cold, cold, cold!" over and over again. Ivan, after 20 minutes of listening to Garet, couldn't take it anymore.

"Garet, if you're so cold, why don't you make a nice big fireball to warm us up?!" He shouted.

Garet paused for a moment, considering. But Isaac shook his head. "If we do that, how are we going to carry it all the way to Imil? To get any heat out of it, we'd have to stop and gather around it, but by the time we were nice and warm, we could be in Imil." He paused and took a deep breath. "No fireball." With that being said, he fell back into silence and marched through the snow.

"Sorry, Ivan. It was worth a try." Garet sighed.

A half-hour later, they were still marching through the snow, but without Garet's fun little chant to help them keep time. Ivan looked up from the snow and beamed. "Hey! Isaac! Garet! I think I see something!"

Isaac and Garet looked up. In the distance, they thought they could see lights. Thinking that they had found Imil, the three charged to the horizon.

After ten minutes, Garet slowed to a stop. Isaac and Ivan caught up to him and stopped too. Isaac looked around at the snowy wasteland. "Why'd we stop, Garet?"

Garet looked over at the lights in the distance and frowned. "I am just be imagining it, or is that after ten minutes of running, Imil isn't any closer?" He looked at the others.

Ivan frowned. "So, what are you saying it is? A mirage?" He added sarcastically.

Garet nodded. Ivan was taken aback. He was only kidding about the lights being a mirage. But now that he thought about it, he realized that it could actually be true. "Okay, but what do we do now?" He looked over at Isaac searchingly.

Isaac was staring at the lights. Suddenly, a look of despair crossed his face. "Guys, you see how the sun's setting behind those lights?"

Garet looked at the lights again and shaded his eyes from the sun. "Yeah? So wha---oh. We've been going west, when we should be going---"

"North." Ivan finished. He felt extremely foolish. It was his fault that they had been going in the wrong direction. Perhaps Isaac had been reading Ivan's mind, because he smiled. "Don't worry, Ivan. It's not your fault."

Having said that, he looked around the tundra. "It's getting late." Isaac decided. "We should find some shelter. I saw a cave a while back. Who votes we go for it?" He looked at the others. Garets was all for the idea, but Ivan looked like he was having his doubts. "Excellent." Isaac turned around and began to walk. He knew the others would follow him. Sure enough, Garet and Ivan walked beside Isaac to find the cave.

After three minutes, they came to the cave. It was kind of small; it would only hold about three or four people at the most. "Perfect!" Garet stated and ran to the cave. Setting his pack down, he sat next to it and looked at how much dirt he collected. Garet cringed. "Well, it's not the most comfortable or clean place in the world, but it'll do."

Isaac and Ivan set down their packs too. Ivan sat down across from Garet, but Isaac remained standing. "Who wants first watch?"

Garet and Ivan instantly shouted "Me!" and then glared at each other. Isaac smiled. "How about this: Ivan, you go first. Wake me up and I'll take the second watch. Then I'll wake you up, Garet, and you'll take the last watch." He finished. Looking over at Garet, Isaac could see that he was frowning.

"Why do I get last watch?!" He complained loudly. Isaac sighed. "Because you're special, Garet. Now go to sleep." With that, he lay down and faced the wall, refusing to speak anymore.

Garet complained for 15 minutes and then fell asleep mid-sentence. Ivan was very grateful. Right now, he wanted to drop asleep from fatigue, but his conscience wouldn't let him.

So, for hours, Ivan was forced to replay in his mind all the failures he had done. Today's mistake seemed like one leaf on the forest floor in autumn. When he saw the sky begin to lighten, he got angry that he had stayed up the whole night.

After dawn, Ivan was still sitting outside the cave. He had figured it would be a waste of time to wake Isaac up to finish this shift. Even though his eyelids felt immensely heavy, he still watched for signs of trouble.

Behind him, Ivan heard the crunching of snow. Whirling around, he came face-to-face with Isaac. "Ivan," he began to lecture, "Why didn't you wake Garet or me?"

Ivan fidgeted and grinned. "Garet was snoring so loud that my ears were starting to hurt. I didn't want to become deaf." His grin faded. "You're mad at me, aren't you?" Ivan looked accusingly hurt at Isaac.

Isaac sighed. "No, I'm not mad." Ivan knew he was lying, but he let it go.

"So," he began. "Who should wake up Garet?" Isaac looked over at Garet, who was snoring. He volunteered and went back into the cave. Ivan stayed outside, watching the sun still rising. He could hear arguing and sounds of someone dragging something emanating from the cave.

Ivan turned around and saw Garet and Isaac emerging. Garet didn't look too good, he had a serious case of bed-head. Isaac looked much better and held out Ivan's pack. He took it and without a word, the three Adepts turned left and headed north to Imil.

An hour later, Garet had resumed his chant of "Cold. Cold. Cold, cold, cold!" Ivan was also pleading to Garet to please stop or risk getting electrocuted. "Hey guys!" Isaac shouted. "Come here!"

Ivan and Garet, who hadn't realized they'd fallen behind, climbed to the top of a hill of snow to see what Isaac had called them for. At the bottom of the hill was Imil.

Wasting no time, Garet, Isaac, and Ivan ran to the village. It was kind of charming, really. The buildings reminded Garet of gingerbread houses. And with his unfailable logic, he determined that anyone who has their house look like a gingerbread house must also like gingerbread cookies, and they will probably have a plentiful supply. With that figured out, he sprinted to the nearest house. Isaac and Ivan exchanged surprised looks, shrugged, and took off after him.

By the time the other two got to the door, Garet was pounding on it and shouting, "Hello! Hello?!" Isaac grabbed Garet's arm as he was about to know again. "What are you doing?!" he demanded.

Garet frowned and tore away his arm from Isaac and knocked again. Isaac gave up and looked helplessly at Ivan. "What is Garet doing?"

Ivan closed his eyes and touched Garet's shoulder. He closed his eyes and his thoughts became one with Garet's. When he got what he wanted, he hurriedly took his hand off Garet and groaned. Isaac asked him what he saw, but all he could do was shake his head and mumble, "Cookies. . . He wants COOKIES!"

As Garet was about to knock again, an old voice croaked, "Mia? Is that you? You can stop banging on the door and come in." Ignoring that the voice said that "Mia" could come in, Garet flung open the door and entered, Isaac and Ivan stood on both sides of him. As Garet was about to imperiously demand "Where are the gingerbread cookies?!", the voice interrupted him again with a sharp, "Who are you? You're not Mia!"

All three Adepts turned to the owner of the voice. She was a small, formidable, old woman. Isaac started to apologize and introduce himself, Garet, and Ivan, but a bony hand seized his shoulder. Not knowing what it was, he whirled around, ready to defend himself. But all he was a sickly, gnarled old man who didn't look like he should be up and moving.

He opened his mouth and managed to wheeze. "Please. . . Find help. . . Go get. . . Mia. . ." His eyes rolled back into his head. The old woman screamed and helped him as best as she could to a small bed by a lit fireplace.

Garet, Isaac, and Ivan all stood dumbfounded, unsure of what to do. The old woman looked up from her husband to scream at them. "What are you standing there for?! Quickly! Fetch Mia!"

Ivan, first to recover, grabbed Isaac and Garet's arms and pulled them out the door. "What now?" Garet asked Isaac, looking pointedly back at the house.

Isaac look too and shuddered. "I guess there's nothing to do," he decided, "but look for this 'Mia.'"

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END OF CHAPTER 2: THE ROAD TO IMIL

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First off, I had to make apologies for Ivan's little angsty-ish paragraph when he was guarding the others. It shouldn't happen again. I just wasn't in a happy mood when I wrote that.

Hehehe. I can't stay away from stupidity and humor for long, can I? I decided to put the gingerbread cookie thing because that's what they remind ME of, and I don't think that the Adepts would get much good food on the open road, don't you think? o.O;;;


	3. Mia?

'Fore I begin, I'd like to say a few things. 

Number one: Thank you Mia for not killing me. I _am_ working on updating, SEEE???!!! 

Number two: Sorry if my writing style will be a bit different than that of the last two chapters, since this IS October, and I wrote those in...August? Really? Wow. That's a long time ago... ^^;

Number three: Thanks for reviewing, Akachi! ^_^ The sword is... not exactly _cursed_, persay... But it's definitely special. XP And yish, this will have Mudshipping and Marsshipping, cuz it's part of the "plot," but Ah've said too much already, so "Tata, yew lot!" and on with the story!!! ::Cackles::

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CHAPTER 3- MIA?

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Isaac hurried the other two Adepts away from the door. "Okay. Garet? Go to the right. Ivan, go to the left. And I," he paused, looking at the town. "I'll just go this way..."

Ivan and Garet exchanged glances and left before Isaac could yell at them or anything of the sort. Isaac went after Ivan. Ivan quickly crossed the river of ice and onto the other snow-covered side with ease.

Isaac wasn't so graceful. He slipped and fell down. Suppressing a string of ready curses, he got up shakily. Isaac slipped again, but slid up the river, about to crash into a waterfall. He quickly ducked at the last second (nearly falling down again), and crashed into a Mars Djinni in a small cave.

The Djinn hopped up and grinned. Isaac couldn't help but smile as well. Those Djinni were always annoyingly optimistic. The Mars Djinn hopped up and disappeared into Isaac's pack, where his Venus Djinni were kept.

Thinking the day was getting better, Isaac slid out of the miniature cave and got back right in front of the old couple's house. Isaac barely had time to sit down when Ivan sprinted up to him, dragging Garet in tow. "What's going on? Did you find Mia?"

Garet shook his head. "No. This little kid told us that 'Mia' had just gone to visit the old people."

Ivan nodded in confirmation and flung open the front door. He peeked in and motioned for Isaac and Garet to go inside, but quietly. Isaac slipped in before Garet and stopped.

The old man was sitting in the bed, looking on the brink of death. His wife anxiously stood beside the bed, wringing her hands nervously. But beside the old woman was a person Isaac did **not** know. He assumed it must be Mia. She was (in his eyes) a heavenly, tall girl with flowing blue hair. Isaac stood, staring for a few moments. _None_ of the girls in Vale were this beautiful.

Mia sighed softly and extended her hands over the old man's frail figure. She murmured, "Ply" and a blue light spread to her fingertips. From them, a small pixie appeared. The pixie flew above the old man and sprinkled something on the old man.

Mia's glow started to fade, as did the projection of the pixie. She took a step back to support herself. She opened her cerulean eyes. They looked outwardly like the eyes of someone who is very concerned about something, but deep down, something unreadable was there. Isaac had never seen anything like it.

The old woman stopped his musings abruptly. "Is he going to be okay, Mia?" She roughly grabbed Mia's arm.

Mia, who had been staring into space, looked down at the old man. He slowly opened his eyes. "Mia? 'Sthat you?"

Mia smiled triumphantly. "Yes, Grandpa. It's me."

The old man's face crinkled into a smile. He tried to sit himself up even, but Mia pushed him down. "No," she gently reprimanded him. "You need your rest. Lie down."

He looked up at Mia and smiled defiantly. The old woman was positively beaming. Mia looked at the couple and smiled warmly. "I'll just leave you two, hmm? Grandma, just make sure he gets plenty of rest."

If the old woman heard Mia, she gave no indication.

Ivan, Isaac, and Garet were standing there in confused silence.

Mia whistled twice a Mercury Djinn walked out from behind the bed. "C'mon, Fizz!" Fizz, the Djinn, swished it's crablike tail in happiness and followed Mia like a loyal dog.

Mia was walking towards the door when she noticed the three Adepts standing there awkwardly. Frowning, she looked at each of them suspiciously. "Who are you, and what on Weyard are you doing here?" She fingered her staff, a sign that those who knew her immediately took to running if they saw it.

Isaac was stammering, so Ivan took over. "Uhh... I'm Ivan. This is Garet, and that's Isaac."

Mia frowned deeper and made a noise. "Oh, _that_ helps! What're you doing here, eh?"

Fizz made a low growling noise, and its eyes narrowed. The old woman's maternal instincts took over. "Oh, Mia. These are the boys I sent out to look for you when Grandpa was having some trouble."

Mia's threatening look became much softer and inviting immediately. "Alright then." She stopped fingering her staff, but she didn't lower it. She was about to walk out the door when she suddenly stopped and turned around. "Grandma?"

The old woman looked over at Mia. "Yes?"

Mia pointed to a chest by the lit fireplace. "Is it okay if I borrow your bottle for awhile?"

The woman frowned. "Why? Why do you need it?"

Mia blinked and fidgeted. "Well... In case... Maybe... If..." She stopped. "PLEASE?"

The old woman scoffed. "Fine! Take it."

Mia smiled and opened the chest. Inside was a finely-crafted empty glass bottle.

Taking the bottle with her, she smiled at the three baffled and still confused Adepts and was about to walk out of the door again. However, the room filled with a flash of blue light. When all became clear again, Isaac saw Mia had rushed over to the window, her faithful Djinn in her arms. He watched an inner struggle appear on her angelic face.

"How? How can this... be? The Mercury Lighthouse? Only Alex and I can..." She gasped sharply and a panicked look crossed her features. "Oh no! Alex! No!" She knocked Isaac, Garet, and Ivan away with an incredible amount of force and sprinted out the door.

Isaac, Garet, and Ivan quietly walked out the door, speechless. This was a very eventful day indeed.

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END OF CHAPTER 3- MIA?

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Just to clarify: The chapter title means: Hey, is _this_ Mia? Of course. It means nothing else. Or does it? I dunno. I wrote this chapter at 10:00, so I can't think straight. Mleh.

I would also like to point out that I would've written more in this chapter if my mom hadn't been standing over my shoulder, yelling at me to go to bed. Sorry! =(

Oh well. Please leave a pretty review, okay?


	4. Entering Mercury Lighthouse

Hello! You haven't heard from me in awhile, 'aven't ya? ^^; Oh well. I gots nothing I _really want to say..._

Kirby: _THAT'S a first..._

Be quiet, Puffball, or I'll post the blackmail picture of you on the internet so AAAAAALLLLL your li'l poker buddies can see. ^_^

Kirby: _I'll be good._

Thought you'd see things my way sooner or later. =D Heh heh.

*****

Isaac, Garet, and Ivan had lost sight of Mia. Her speed was amazing, and Isaac thought it only added towards her beauty. The three Adepts followed her tracks in the snow. It wasn't hard for, it seemed, no one had been this way in quite awhile. After about forty-five minutes of walking, they came upon the Mercury Lighthouse.

Built ages ago by unknown people, the blue tower went sky-high. Standing in her shadow, the three stared in awe. The sunlight glittered off the sapphire stones coldly, but not without a certain amount of warmth that eased the cold from the bones. In front of the tower was a fountain. But it was empty, giving a certain sadness to the sacred structure. A brass plaque read: _Hermes's Water._

Treading softly in this monument only seemed to be right. Without a word, the three Adepts walked farther in the mini-courtyard. Mia stood among broken fragments of stone, staring at a winged statue intently. "This was never here before..." She whispered for herself, not noticing the three Adepts creeping up on her.

Isaac looked at the scene before him intently. The young and angelic Mia fit in perfectly with the cold, sharp lighthouse. He coughed nervously, which came out in a rather interesting fashion. Ivan and Garet, giving each other knowing glances, tried to hide their smiles. Mia spun around quickly, her staff in a threatening position. But when she saw who they were, her face softened. Lowering her staff, but not too much, she asked in a soft, yet interrogating voice, "Why did you follow me here?"

Isaac drew himself up proudly, but secretly gazing at her flowing aqua hair admiringly. "We have our own business with the lighthouses." Ivan and Garet backed him up with confirming nods.

Mia's brow furrowed in thought momentarily. She gazed at each of them suspiciously, weighing her options. The three just returned the gazes. Sighing and shaking her head, Mia backed up to allow them to get closer to the statue. Isaac walked forward slightly clumsily, and his companions followed him. It could have been his imagination, but Isaac could've sworn Ivan was slowly pushing him so that he'd be forced to stand next to Mia. There, all he could think about nervously was how close she was to him, and how foolish he must look.

Mia didn't notice. "I suppose you three want to get in the lighthouse now, right?" The three Adepts nodded. Mia sighed. "You can't."

"What? No way!" Ivan shouted.

"I'm afraid so." She pointed grimly to the statue. "That thing is blocking the entrance. If we could just jump over there and push the statue out of the way, there would be no problem. But the fact of the matter is that there's no room."

Garet blinked at the long statement. Ivan was looking slyly at Isaac. Isaac, seeing Ivan's glance, thought. _What's that look for? ...Oh._ Coughing slightly, he took a step forward. "I-I could do it."

Mia looked over at him oddly. But, looking at his face, a _click_ sounded in her brain. Her face softened into a slight smile. "Of course." She stepped aside, allowing Isaac to stand aligned with the statue. Ivan cast Mia a suspicious glance. _How does she know what Isaac has to do?_

Garet, thinking nothing of Mia's behavior, just watched Isaac silently. Isaac could feel all the eyes on him, especially Mia's. He was praying to Venus that he wouldn't mess up. However, he maintained an outward appearance of calm assurance. "_Move_." He spoke softly, raising his hand in front of him. Closing his eyes, he saw the world of his Psynergy.

The statue in front of him sparkled and changed colors. A giant gloved hand, that of his Psynergy's, was raised in the air, in front of the statue. He pushed his own arm forward. The hand mimicked his action, pushing the statue back its own width. The gloved hand disappeared, and Isaac opened his eyes, returning to the world of normal sight.

Isaac chanced a glance back at Mia. She didn't seem very impressed, only a little bit. Inwardly feeling horrid, he took a step back and glanced at his handiwork. The statue was moved, and the section of wall it covered was out in the open. Revealed in that space was a swirling blue vortex. It was very inviting and hypnotic, and Isaac took an involuntary step forward.

"No!" Mia placed a hand on his shoulder none-to-gently. The touch brought Isaac back to reality. He blinked for a moment, and finally noticed the smaller girl had her hand upon him. But by the time he had realized that, Mia had already removed her hand from him. Turning to all the three Adepts, she glared warningly at them. "Don't set a finger in there! The vortex is raw Mercury power and will easily disintegrate your bodies within seconds!"

The boys needed no further warning and backed away from Mia and the vortex, no longer so inviting. Mia faced the hole in the ground before the ledge where the vortex was. Backing up, she leaped over the chasm with graceful ease. Ivan and Garet, seeing Isaac staring after her dumbly, had to stifle snickers. Isaac glared at them, blushing.

Standing in front of the vortex, it seemed a strong wind was behind her, trying to suck her into the vortex. Mia, having been trained for this, was ready. With her blue robes and ponytail fluttering around her, she extended both hands outwards, palms up. "_Ply_." She spoke loudly, but the wind whipped the words from her mouth, making them end up a whisper.

A little sprite appeared above her hands. It flew towards the vortex and sprinkled blue dust in front of it. The wind blew them straight into the swirling power. The sprite disappeared and Mia was left alone. The vortex increased in its fury, and Mia even had to brace herself and avert her eyes from the hypnotic swirling.

But the vortex's desperate fury was short lived, and it slowed and faded away, revealing a normal door. Smiling in satisfaction, Mia hopped in without a backward glance.

Thinking again that Mia was the most wonderful person he had ever met, Isaac followed instantly. Garet, yelling at Isaac to "wait up", followed as well. Ivan didn't follow quite as fast. Unlike his friends, he was much more studious than a warrior. He observed and thought things that the others did not. So while they trusted Mia a bit, he still had his doubts. It was not in Ivan's nature to instantly trust people completely. In Vault, he had been quite desperate. In his childhood, Ivan had never really been trusted or welcomed by his peers. Though he might deny it, Ivan had never really gotten over that.

Shrugging, Ivan leapt over the chasm and followed the others. When he got inside, he saw an interesting sight. Putting on his cheerful mask, he bound over to Isaac and Garet. Garet was watching with an amused expression. Isaac didn't look too happy. Seeing what they were looking at, Ivan grinned.

Mia was playing with a mirror. Actually, the "mirror" was a ten foot tall lizard in armor. Mia would step to the left, but the monster would do the same. She would feign to the right, and almost get through the left, but the lizard was just as fast, and possibly faster, than Mia. She looked murderous. "Dumb lizard..." She mumbled. "LET ME THROUGH!!!" She grabbed her staff and looked prepared to fight. The lizard looked highly amused.

Ivan, analyzing the girl's face, decided this wasn't the best option. Isaac would say that she looked very brave. Garet would say she looked like Jenna when she was about the punch somebody she was mad at. But Ivan took a closer look. Though she had her face set in a grim determination, her knuckled holding the staff were white, and he could see she shook a tiny bit. This would be her first fight, and going up against a lizard warrior was not the best idea for someone inexperienced.

Ivan looked to his friends support. Garet was watching with mild interest. No help there. Ivan turned to Isaac. Isaac was glaring at the lizard, mumbling under his breath. Ivan decided to appeal to Isaac. "Isaac..." He tugged on his sleeve.

"What?" He snapped.

Ivan, undaunted, continued. "You can't let her fight alone. She's a healer. Not much of a fighter."

Isaac had learned awhile ago to trust Ivan on certain things, and since this lead to doing something he wanted to do, he listened. Grabbing Garet by the arm and trusting Ivan to follow him, he went to stand next to Mia. He saw Ivan was right. On the outside, she looked formidable, but her eyes betrayed that she was a bit scared. "Mia?"

Mia didn't take her gaze off the lizard, who was grinning and unsheathing a sword. "Yes?"

"Please, let us fight. You don't have too..."

Mia frowned, but this was preferable to having to fight the beast herself. "Fine." As she went to watch from a safe place, she glared at them, making it quite clear that she could've taken down the lizard if she wanted to. She was only humoring them.

Relieved, the Adepts took up their battle stances. The lizard relied heavily on its broadsword. It was obviously a skilled fighter, for it wielded the two-handed blade in one hand, and a heavy shield in the other. It would be a dabbler in Psynergy at the most. Taking this to their advantage, the Adepts stayed back a distance and fought it with Psynergy.

In the midst of gold, purple, and red Psynergy, Garet was having problems. He felt the oppressive weight of the direct opposite Psynergy weighing down on him, making his attacks next to useless. He didn't tell the others, for they didn't notice. Isaac wasn't feeling as bad, for the direct opposite of Venus is Jupiter. Garet still fought, and just wished he could get close enough to the lizard to use his sword. But he knew it'd be pointless, for the lizard was very agile, and was even able to dodge some of the attacks, especially Garet's.

Eventually, the Adepts won, and the lizard's body disintegrated instantly. Mia ran towards the door the lizard had not allowed entry through. Yelling a quick "Thanks!" over her shoulder, she hustled into the next room.

The Adepts followed her, though at a slower pace. Garet was grateful, for though he didn't admit it, he was very weary from their battle. Ivan bound ahead, calling for the others to catch up, disappearing through the doorway. Isaac had been walking with Garet, but Garet had unconsciously slowed his pace, and was now behind Isaac. Isaac waited patiently for Garet to catch up. "You okay, Garet? You don't look so good."

Garet smiled and continued walking. "I'm fine. Trust me." Speeding up, he followed Ivan's path. Isaac followed, shaking his head.

"I'm not too sure if I believe you, Garet."

*****

There! How was that for my long absence, hey? ^_^ The next update shouldn't take NEARLY as long, 'cause I'm in a writing mood now. Heck, I bet the next update could be in a day or two! (I dunno!) So please leave a review on your way out! (More reviews I get, faster I update!!!) n_n


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